General view of the new panorama "Dresden - Myth of the Baroque Royal Seat" by Austrian-born artist of Iranian origin Yadegar Asisi, taken during a preview in Dresden, eastern Germany. As organisers announce, the 360 degrees panorama of the glorious Baroque period in Dresden focuses on life in the Saxon court as well as the daily lives of citizens, merchants, fishermen, servants and tradesmen. The artist condenses the period from about 1695 to 1760 into an artistic snapshot of Dresden Baroque. The panorama opened for the public on December 1, 2012. AFP PHOTO / ARNO BURGI.

DRESDEN.- Yadegar Asisi has completed a reworked version of the 360° panorama of baroque Dresden. The new picture portrays town life and everyday happenings at court during the entire Augustan Era, from ca. 1695 to 1760. He has condensed the entire period of Dresden Baroque, depicting it in the form of a panorama. The monumental circular picture is on display at a permanent exhibition in the asisi Panometer Dresden.

Why has the panorama been reworked? Asisi replies as follows: "In my eyes, a panorama is never finished. As soon as I see it in the Panometer for the first time, I begin to make a mental note of what changes I could make to it. Also, technology has developed at a tremendous pace, and this should be reflected in the quality of the picture."

Yadegar Asisi used the vedutas painted by the Venetian artist Canaletto as an architectural model for his picture, just as he did for the previous panorama. Making a close study of these views of Dresden, painted with photographic precision, Asisi now realised that many of the buildings and streets in the first half of the 18th century did not have such smooth facades and surfaces as he had depicted in the panorama 1756 DRESDEN. So he set to work to give the new Dresden picture more of a characteristic patina. For example, the facades do not appear so smooth. The ravages of time seem to announce the approach of the end of an era. Asisi has also made corrections following the advice given by citizens of Dresden regarding details of the architecture, landscape and scenery. However, the main objective was to bring the panorama more to life. To achieve this he has added scenes featuring historical citizens of baroque Dresden, along with some of its most famous visitors. New additions to the picture include Tsar Peter I., Countess Cosel, Johann Sebastian Bach with his son Wilhelm Friedemann, the court jester Joseph Fröhlich, the goldsmith Johann Melchior Dinglinger and the discoverer of porcelain, Johann Friedrich Böttger. Asisi has also added some new historical anecdotes to the panorama, such as the visit of the famous rhinoceros Clara to Dresden in 1747 whilst on her European tour, the execution of Lips Tullian and his band of robbers in 1715, who had terrorized the whole of Saxony for years, or the arrest of the lackey Laubler who had murdered the dean of the Church of the Holy Cross in a state of religious delusion in 1726. The arrival of the Sistina from Italy in 1754 also has a place in the picture.

Additionally, the accompanying exhibition has undergone a complete change in presentation. Dazzling colours in a mixture of shocking pink, blue or black and gold are used to highlight the atmosphere of life in the baroque city. A large number of exhibits show various aspects of absolutism, the court, the town or religion. Prints, lithographs, drawings and sketches play an important role. However, special mention should be made of an original ivory flea trap and a gold-plated plaster cast of a bust of August the Strong, made by the sculptor Paul Heermann from Dresden.

Until November 18, 2012, the interim panorama ROME 312, depicting the ancient world metropolis on the River Tiber under the rule of the Emperor Constantine, was on display in Dresden.

More than 165,000 people had visited this panorama since it opened on December 10, 2011.